Without a Well-Maintained Content Library You Can’t Hope to Compete in Today’s Content-Centric World
Content is the cornerstone of any successful engagement strategy. Everything from case studies to industry research and conventional blogs build your brand’s credibility. In today’s digital world, businesses are striving to be top providers of information on-the-go.
In the Executive Briefing Center (EBC) or Customer Experience Center (CEC), content is not just a means to inform; it’s a tool for impressing existing partners or potential clients by showcasing your authority on various subjects. Of course, this is always done through a strong, well-planned presentation backed by dozens — if not hundreds — of supporting content types.
At every stage of the customer experience journey, content is an instrumental component that moves your audience along the sales funnel. Yet in the context of an EBC program, it’s utterly inefficient if you don’t have a proper topic library or content management system.
One ABPM study reveals that most EBC’s do not have an organized way to file topic offerings. In fact, 26 percent of respondents claim they are still trying to build a topic catalog.
ABPM is a professional community comprised of over 600 worldwide members — 100 of which are Fortune 500 companies — that was developed to help advance briefing programs in the business community. Data from ABPM about the state of EBCs is integral to understanding the current climate.
Without a proper content library, a team simply cannot leverage past collateral and presentations; there’s no way to improve upon them and deliver on customer service expectations.
How Should EBCs Approach the Content Library?
That same ABPM poll shows that over half of all EBCs store their topic catalog internally, via a closed network. With this setup, customers cannot access old materials for reference.
Furthermore, 30.4 percent of respondents don’t have a topic list. Instead of leveraging existing materials, many EBC programs will choose presentation ideas that align with a sales strategy call. Although being adaptable to each customer’s needs is important, planning everything from scratch for each meeting results in wasted effort for the management team.
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The Ideal Balance of Content and Experience
To be adaptable, EBC’s should preserve an ongoing content stream while retaining the ability to personalize materials for each briefing or client. Basically, it means creating a working template that can easily be reproduced and modified for all materials.
The many types of content that briefing attendees love to experience include sales analysis reports, integration, tech-docs, powerpoint presentations, thought leadership articles, business case studies, etc. Having a library available means that program managers do not have to start from scratch each time they engage with these core subjects. They can also pivot quickly, making last minute adjustments when that is needed to satisfy customers.
CIGNA Corporation CIO Mark Boxer says, “The companies that do the best with our team are the ones that understand our business, know the competitive landscape, can articulate our strategy and then orient around those solutions that best help us advance our technology strategy and, more importantly, our business strategy.”
Housing Content Libraries and Streamlining Access
At any given time, EBC managers should be able to decide who to share materials with on a case-by-case basis. Conventional networks and content strategies make doing this more challenging, if not outright impossible. An integrated mobile app provides the solutions team members need, while also providing consistent access to valuable data for customers.
For instance, a modern mobile app will allow managers to produce niche news channels that can also be used to house more detailed eContent that’s entitled to a group or demographic. This makes the entire content distribution process — before, during and after — a breeze.
Ultimately, customers and employees want to remain in-the-know. If you’re not sharing the proper content with them, you’re passing up a monumental opportunity.
Quality Control Matters For Customer Experience
Producing multiple types of content, across a wide variety of topics and tailoring your message to different customers is necessary. However, the EBC must have a good process in place to ensure topics used also meet a set of minimum quality control requirements. Access to subject matter experts can be invaluable to this end, with 36.4 percent of respondents claiming it’s a crucial part of content-related quality control.
There are three core concepts that go into optimal quality control for content: accuracy, timeliness and relevance. By measuring your existing strategies against these standards, you can ensure you’re delivering the best of the best.
Also, by establishing a content library, the quality of presentations will improve overall, especially since subject matter experts can have easy access to information. In an ideal environment, the system employed by the EBC can save information on past presenters, help highlight what their strengths are and put a spotlight on which content performs best.
Good Content Strategies are the Lifeblood of the EBC
EBCs, as customer-facing business departments, are constantly competing and trying to outdo each other. Remaining competitive is important, but no manager should lose sight of the fact that their content is the lifeblood of the program. Having a good strategy in place to not only create high-quality, personalized content but also preserve and distribute it, will keep things moving forward. In our digital age, where information is everything, having the capability to deliver content anywhere, anytime is paramount to the customer journey.